


Dog People

by RenkonNairu



Category: Young Justice (Cartoon)
Genre: Angst, Dogs, F/M, Family, Father/Son, Gen, Humor, talking pets
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-08-16
Updated: 2012-08-15
Packaged: 2017-11-12 06:12:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 19,338
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/487620
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RenkonNairu/pseuds/RenkonNairu
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Season 1<br/>In which Wolf meets Krypto.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. A Chance Encounter

**Author's Note:**

> Cover art for this fic was done by Santopecado of deviantART and can be found here: http://santopecado.deviantart.com/gallery/#/d56133k

Wolf did not mind water.

It was baths he took issue with.

More specifically the soap. The evil, foamy, itchy soap.

The large cobra-venom enhanced predator growled hostilely when he realized his Alpha was leading him into shower room designated for the male members of the Pack. It was a horrible place of smooth cold stone squares called 'tile' that felt slippery under the pads of his paws. Each wall was lined with a row of vile metal heads that made it rain hot and fill the room with steam, which obscured his vision, played tricks on his nose and made the stone squares all the more slippery to walk on.

But all that was not what bothered Wolf. No. What bothered him was the bottled his Alpha held in his hand. A thick transparent poison called 'doggie shampoo'. It was this thing, this vile, repugnant thing that made the Wolf loath the shower room.

"C'mon, boy, its not that bad." His Alpha called from beneath the water's stream. His crystal-blue eyes fixed on Wolf's own golden orbs and the predator knew he was going to give in. To submit to the Alpha was the only feasible option. But not yet. This was not the first time his Alpha had tried to give him a 'bath' and it would not be the last. Wolf's reluctance and Alpha's cajoling had become a sort of ritual between them. "Look, I'll do it and then you'll that there's nothing to be afraid of."

Wolf watched as Alpha squeezed a bit of 'doggie shampoo' from the bottle into his hand and then proceeded to lather it into the patch of ebony fur upon his head. True, the vile soap did not bother Alpha, but then, very little short of a building falling on him bothered Alpha. Still, it was amusing to watch and Wolf's lips curled upwards, displaying his sharp teeth in his closest approximation of the expression the two-legged members of the Pack called 'a smile'. His 'smile' didn't seem to have the same effect as the two-legged smiles, however, as everyone always seemed to think he was about to attack something when he did it.

Upon seeing the Wolf's teeth bared at him, Alpha planted his feet, rested one reprimanding fist on his hip and stared down at the cobra-venom enhanced predator. It was then that Wolf gave in and offered his submission. Lowering his eyes from Alpha's stern gaze he slunk into the shower room and, stopping just outside the stream of warm rain from the metal head, he laid on his back, exposing his belly to Alpha. It was supposed to be the posture of submission, rendering yourself completely vulnerable and trusting the other male not to gut you with his fangs of claws. But the two-leggers always seemed to think that it meant he wanted pets and scratchies on his belly. (Not that Wolf was complaining about this misconception or anything.)

Alpha seemed to be no exception to this. He bent down and scratched the Wolf's belly, hitting a very nice spot that sent one of his hind legs into spasms. "That's a good boy."

After the pets were over Wolf sat obediently and allowed Alpha to work the hateful soap into his fur, working it into his back, down all four of his legs on his head (careful not to get the abhorrent stuff in his eyes). Finally, after Wolf was completely covered in the stuff, Alpha began to rinse it all out again. He tried to help by shaking furiously, spraying soap, fur, and whatever else the soap was taking off of him to the four corners of the shower room. It left discolored specks on the otherwise clean white squares but Wolf didn't care. The important thing was to get the abhorrent soap off of him. That was what mattered.

Finally, after he was completely rinsed and soap free, Wolf trotted out of the shower room without waiting for Alpha's approval. In the past when he had tried to escape from these 'baths' before all the soap was gone Alpha would come after his, stalking through the Den's corridors without his fake fur the two-leggers called 'clothing'. He would grab Wolf and hoist him up over his shoulders and carry him back to the 'bath' like a disobedient pup. Now Wolf understood that if he waited a few extra minuets and endured it rather than trying to run the ordeal was over much quicker and he did not have to go through it for another month (or until he returned to the Den dirty again, he however, had a much different opinion of what 'dirty' was than Alpha or the rest of the Pack seemed to have).

He shook off again in the locker rooms, spattering the lockers with yet more droplets of water before Alpha appeared beside him and dropped a clean white towel over his back. After being worked over with the towel, Wolf shook again and Alpha seemed to give-up, retreating back into the shower room to rinse off the thin layer of white wolf fur that now covered his naked flesh.

Wolf trotted out of the locker rooms.

He sneezed at the air in the corridor, which seemed so much cooler and dryer after being in the shower room. But the thought quickly left his mind when he registered the scent of Alpha's mate prepared a kill in the kitchen. Wolf did not generally approve of applying heat to meat, but the two-legged members of the Pack seemed to insist that it was a necessity and who was he to argue? But, if Alpha-female was still dressing the kill she might give him some of the fat or skin she pulled off. It would be a wonderful treat after the ordeal he just had to endure.

The Pack was assembled in the Den's common room. They lounged on the couch or in chairs, their eyes transfixed by the box that made lights and sounds. Wolf did not understand the two-leggers' fascination with the thing. Alpha's mate was just opening the oven door to check the kill she was heating in it, standing back and using her telekinetic abilities rather than her paws. The Alpha's mate could not abide extreme heat.

Wolf paused and waited just outside of the kitchen, Alpha-female did not approve of him being in the kitchen. He was big and he was bulky and the kitchen was full of knives and fire and other such dangerous things. So, he sat patiently and waited to be noticed.

It was not Alpha's mate whom noticed him first, but rather the newest member of the Pack, the raven-furred female called Zatanna. She turned around at the clack of his paws on the linoleum floor and smiled at him from over the back of the couch. "Wolf, did you escape from your bath?"

At that simple query everyone else suddenly snapped to attention. The red-furred speedster, Wally, raised his head and called down the corridor, "Supey, you know what we like to see when you come tromping after Wolf: pants! We like to see you in pants!"

"What!" Zatanna blinked in alarm. She was still new to the Pack and to the Den, and had not been present in the early days when Alpha would hunt him down without putting on his fake-fur.

"He hasn't done that in a while. Either of them." Alpha-female assured her. She turned her attention to Wolf and gave him an affectionate pat on the head. "Would you like a treat?"

Wolf gave a very dog-like yip of affirmative, his jaws parting slightly and his tongue lolling out expectantly. Meat. Wonderful, glorious, meat. Fresh, juicy, tender, sweet, meat. Meat that he didn't have to hunt, chase down, corner and kill himself. Meat that was just handed to him. Truly, it was a wonderful thing to be a member of this Pack.

"Here ya go." She smiled and held out something that was decidedly not meat. He sniffed the thing and detected rice, corn starch, food dye and then just a few hints of lamb and chicken. He didn't know what this thing was, be it was not meat and he did not want it. Wolf gave a snort of disapproval. "Don't you want a biscuit?"

No, he did not want a biscuit. Whatever the hell that was. He wanted the bits that she usually pulled off the meat she served to Alpha and the rest of the Pack. The fats and the skins, sometimes the gizzards and other such innards. He wanted meat, not this cake of corn starch and rice that wasn't even shaped like a real bone!

It was then that Alpha entered, pulling his fake-fur with its bright red symbol over his still damp head. Alpha would fix this.

"Were you talking to me a second ago?" He asked the red-furred speedster. But before Wally had a chance to respond Wolf grabbed his attention, taking the offending 'biscuit' from Alpha-female's hand and trotting over to drop corn starch cake at Alpha's commando-booted paws. He looked down at the thing and, seeing what it was, patted Wolf on the head, saying, "No thanks, boy, that's yours."

Wolf was not pleased at Alpha's lack of comprehension that he did not want the thing. He left it where it had dropped and trotted back to wait just outside of the kitchen. Maybe if he was lucky, Alpha-female would drop something more meat-like on the floor.

"Do you know anyone else who answers to the name 'Supey' and likes to walk around wet, soapy and naked?" Wally shot back, seeming not to noticed Wolf at all.

Alpha made a face of disapproval and growled, "I don't like to do that, it just sort of happened. Besides, I haven't done that in months."

"A fact we are all very thankful for." Nodded the two-legged fish.

Wolf wasn't really listening to them; he was just paying enough attention to know if anyone mentioned him. Aside from that, his attention was fixed upon the kitchen.

"I didn't mind so much." Alpha-female floated out of the kitchen to wrap her arms around Alpha and the two shared a two-legger mating ritual called a 'kiss'. When their lips parted again she continued, "But it was highly inappropriate. Especially now that Zatanna's living here too."

With Alpha-female now out of the kitchen, Wolf took this as his opportunity. There was nothing of interest on the open counters, just some cut vegetables all mixed together in something the two-leggers called a 'salad', toasted bread that had been dressed with butter and garlic (evil garlic!) and a selection of dressings for the salad. Not much of interest there. The good food –the meat- was still trapped in the oven where he could not get to it. Drat!

But wait! What was that he smelled?

Wolf followed his nose to the kitchen garbage and there, yes, there was where he found what he had originally come looking for. Skin! Chicken skin, fat, gizzards! And a few bones, too. It was all there resting in the plastic bin amid a bed of styrofoam and other such non-recyclable materials. Happily, the Wolf pawed at the trashcan until it tipped over, spilling its wonderful bounty all over the kitchen floor.

"Wolf! No!"

Of course, the crash drew the attention of the whole Pack. The Alpha-pair rushed forward, Alpha grabbed him by the snout, working the fingers of his paw between the Wolf's teeth to force his jaw open.

"Did he get any bones?" Asked Alpha-female.

"No." Alpha answered her, relieved. He turned Wolf's head to face him. "Bad!" He said, voice vibrating with authority. "Bad, Wolf."

The cobra-venom enhanced wolf lowered his head in submission. He didn't understand what he'd done wrong, but it seemed to have upset both Alpha and his mate.

"Go outside." Alpha ordered and Wolf complied, slinking out of the common room in shame.

…

Krypto did not like water.

That wasn't quite accurate. He liked to drink water, he did not like to get wet.

Big difference.

But getting wet was exactly what his immediate future seemed to hold for him. The Superdog whined pleadingly, gazing up at his Master with his big bright crystal-blue eyes. But Master seemed not to noticed his desperately pleading puppy-dog eyes as he unbuckled Krypto's bright yellow collar and removed his short red cape. Master set these beside the basin of lukewarm water he had prepared for the Superdog's bath.

"C'mon, boy." Master tapped the side of the basin, expecting him to hop right in. Honestly, had the last few years taught him nothing? Two-leggers could be so dense sometimes. Krypto was not going to get in that tub of water of his own volition. That was that. "Alright then, have it your way."

With a sigh, Master grabbed Krypto by the scruff of the neck with one hand and then the skin of his rump with the other hand and hefted the Superdog into the basin of water.

"There now." Master cooed. "Was that so bad?"

Master began trickling water over Krypto's not-quite-white-at-the-moment fur, working the moister all the way down to his skin with the long toes of his paws the two-leggers called 'fingers'.

Krypto shook violently the moment Master's hands left his body, spraying drops of water in all directions, covering the pure white walls of the Fortress' bathroom with tiny brown speckles. Master sighed again.

"How about some soap?" He reached for a bottle of doggie-shampoo.

No! Not soap! If there was anything worse than water it was water mixed with soap! Krypto gave an "Arff!" of disapproval and jumped out of the basin, sending a small cascade of water over the immaculate white floor as he did so.

"Woah there!" Master tried to grab at him to force the Superdog back into the basin but he avoided the Superman. He hated disobeying his Master, but Krypto hated being wet and covered in soap even more. He was usually a very obedient dog, but in this one respect he felt he had the right to misbehave.

Krypto made a super-speed B-line for the bathroom door and, pressing the door-release with his nose, flew out into the corridor before it had even opened all the way. Master chased after him, of course. But Krypto was smaller than him and he wasn't wearing his cape, Master was. Krypto had less wind-resistance and less drag at the moment and he quickly put some distance between himself and his Master in the narrow hallways of the Fortress of Solitude.

Of course, he couldn't stay in the Fortress. If he planned to evade his Master and escape the dreaded bath then he could not stay in these close quarters. He needed to get out and away.

Krypto took the long way out of the Fortress, through the back entrance where Bat-person liked to park his flying machine when he visited. The exit was big and wide but hidden by a sheet of thick blue ice that hung over it for several feet. It was this that the Superdog escaped through, turning south away from the Arctic.

Usually, when he left the Fortress, he went to Ma and Pa's farm in Kansas. The idea of rolling in that rich brown mid-western dirt was very appealing to the Superdog. But Ma and Pa would probably just call Master and snitch on him if he did. That was what happened the last time he escaped from a bath. Maybe he could go to Gotham and play with Ace? But no… Bat-person was scary; to spite the fact that he had no powers. And besides, Krypto had the Bat-person didn't like him very much.

So, the Superdog continued to speed southward over the Eastern Seaboard, trying to put as much distance between himself and his Master (but more importantly, the bath his Master was trying to give him) as he possibly could.

…

Wolf stalked the slopes of Mt. Justice.

Well, fine then!

If they weren't going to let him have the bits of meat that they had clearly discarded that was just fine!

He could get his own meat. That was what he used to do before anyway. Before he had been caught by the Brain and given his heightened intelligence and strength, before he and his pack had been so easily dominated by Alpha, before he had joined Alpha's pack… he used to hunt all the time! Sure, it had been a while since he'd actually done it. Living with Alpha he just hadn't had the need. But he could still do it.

…

Krypto landed on a bit of coast that seemed slightly familiar.

He had only been here once, maybe twice, but the Superdog had a near perfect memory and he was sure that this had once been the territory of Master's friends. They hadn't used it in a long time, though, so Master probably wouldn't look for him here. The Superdog put his nose to the ground, searching for something he'd like to roll in. After all, what was the point of escaping a bath if he didn't get to roll in anything afterwards?

However, all thoughts of happily rolling in dirt, or grass, or pine-needles quickly vanished when he caught another scent. Something that could never have occurred naturally. Something that did not belong in a territory belonging to Master's friends.

It smelled like Venom, that stuff that made Bat-person's enemy, Bane, so powerful. But there was something else mixed in with it too, something Krypto hadn't ever smelled before and underneath it all was the scent of a wolf –a predator.

The Superdog's hackles rose in preparation for the inevitable fight.

…

Wolf heard something land not far from where he'd been lurking and he raised his nose to sniff their air. A completely new scent drifted to greet him, carried by a light evening breeze. It smelled vaguely of house-dog, but also carried currents of power, ice, arctic air, and… doggie shampoo! That most hated substance!

Wolf's hackles rose at the recognition of the abhorrent scent. Doggie shampoo had no place here on his mountain. Inside the Den, fine. But not out here. Out here in nature was sacred!

…

Dog and Wolf came face to face within a small clearing not far from the entrance to the Den.

The two glared at each other.

Wolf, with his ears drawn back, laying flat against his head. Teeth bared in a frothy growling snarl that usually frightened most creatures, two-legged and four-legged alike.

Krypto's teeth were also bared in a snarl, his tail up, back arched and fur standing on end.

Neither seemed willing to back down to the other. Both seemed ready and willing to let the battle be joined. All they needed was a spark.

They didn't get one, however.

At that moment, the tense atmosphere was cut (like a knife) by a human (or at least human-like) voice calling, "Wolf? You can come back in now. We're all sitting down to dinner and I cut some chicken for you."

Meat! Alpha had intended to give him meat after all. The Wolf was cheered.

Krypto recognized that voice. That was Master's voice, only… it sounded younger. Like what Master had sounded like when he was still a puppy. Maybe Master had been de-aged in the time since he escaped his bath? Or maybe Master from the past had accidentally come to the future? It wouldn't be the first time (stupid League of Superheroes and their stupid rings).

But the creature that entered their small clearing was not Master. He looked like Master and he sounded like Master, but his scent was different. It was a mix between Master's scent and the scent of… Lex Luthor! Krypto was struck dumb at the recognition of that second element to this puppy's scent. It was a perfectly even blend, and smelled so natural, almost as if… almost as if Master and Luthor had had a puppy together and this was that puppy. Mater had never said anything to indicate that he had a puppy. What a pleasant surprise. If Krypto had known sooner he would have been happy to play with the puppy for Master.

The Superdog gave a happy yip and dashed to the Master-Luthor puppy, hopping around him in a circle and barking excitedly.

"Okay…?" Alpha looked at the dog that was hopping around him like an idiot, making more noise in less than a minuet than Wolf had ever made in his entire life.

How undignified. Wolf would never be so obnoxious. He glared at the new dog. Alpha was going to take him back to the Den with them wasn't he. Alpha had a propensity for collecting strays and trying to integrate them into the Pack. He had been a stray. Sphere had been a stray. …and now this jumping, barking idiot.

Then Alpha's eyes turned to Wolf, commanding his attention. "Who's your friend, boy?" Alpha caught the hopping idiot, placing a calming hand on his head to still him. He knelt down to examine the new dog, noting that he wore no collar or tags. "Well, it doesn't look like you belong to anyone, but you look to well fed to be homeless. How'd you get all the way up here?"

"Arf!" Krypto decided that while this puppy might be half Luthor he was just as friendly and nice as Master. Krypto had a sixth sense about people and he instantly liked Master's puppy very much and he showed him as much by licking his face enthusiastically.

"Well, you seem to like me well enough." Said the puppy. "How about I take you in for tonight and tomorrow we'll find your family. How does that sound?"

"Arf!" Krypto panted happily.

Wolf did not seem quite as enthused.

Alpha lead them both to the Den where the new dog was introduced to the rest of the Pack. "Hey guys, look what Wolf found."

The Robin was the first member of the Pack to react. He paused upon seeing the white furred house-dog and asked, "Is that…?" But his question trailed off without being finished and no one else seemed to notice.

"Great." The red-furred speedster scoffed. "Now your strays are bringing home strays."


	2. Found Dog

Ace lifted his head as the Batmobile pulled into the cave for the morning and his Master climbed out with a sigh and a stretch.

It was good that Master's puppy got to spend some weekends with the other Justice-puppies, 'team-building' or whatever Master called it, but sometimes Ace thought that maybe Master needed the back-up of having the Dick-puppy around more than the Dick-puppy needed to train with the other puppies. Ace stood and trotted over to his master, licking the man's leather-gloved hand. Maybe next weekend Master would take him out in the Dick-puppy's place.

The Dark Knight stifled a yawn and pulled his cowl down, bending to give Ace the expected pets for a job well done guarding the cave in his absence. Then Master lifted his head to chack the time on the information box he often sat in front of.

Six in the morning.

If Master hopped in bed right now he could grab five hours of sleep and be up by noon. Unfortunately, the blinking light on the information box that indicated an in-coming call told them both that Master would not be climbing into bed just yet. With a heavy sigh and another suppressed yawn Master pawed the button that answered the call.

The Clark-person's face filled most of the screen, looking worried. "Is he there? Have you seen him?"

Master was pretty good at understanding most things given very little explanation. He was, in fact, the World's Greatest Detective. But even he seemed at an utter and complete loss as to whom the Two-Legger of Steel was talking about.

"Who?" This time Master did not bother to stifle or suppress the yawn that erupted up from his chest.

"Krypto!" Clark-person snapped as if this should have been obvious, which it most certainly had not been. Ace gave an undignified groan and curled up at Master's feet. He hoped the overly energetic Superdog was not coming over for a play-date. He liked Krypto… some of the time, but right now he just wanted to curl up at the foot of Master's bed and sleep (and, he assumed, Master wanted to do the same). "He took off last night and hasn't come back yet! I already called my parents and he's not there, Lois says he hasn't been by the city all night and I know he's not at the Fortress, so is he there? Is he playing with Ace?"

Master took a moment's pause and Ace wondered if he was thinking about the Super-puppy that the Clark-person refused to claim. Or the fact that the Clark-person seemed more concerned over a dog than he did over the Super-puppy that Master thought was more deserving of attention and concern. But Master said none of this to Clark-person; it wouldn't do to dredge that up when the Two-Legger of Steel was already in a state of tension. Instead, he said simply, "He's not here."

Clark-person let out a one-syllable word in Kryptonese that Ace was pretty sure was a curse, it certainly had the ring of a curse to it, even if the Bathound didn't know the language. "Okay." He said, disappointed. "Thank you. Will you call me if he turns up?"

"Of course." Master nodded. The Dark Knight was not overly fond of the Superdog and would have no reservations what-so-ever about calling the Two-Legger of Steel to come remove his mutt from the property.

"Thanks, Bruce." And then, just because the Clark-person felt it was rude to call someone and not ask useless inanities like 'how was your day?' he asked, "I suppose you're just getting in. How'd your night go?"

In answer, Master switched off the comm.

The box went dark. Master stripped off the rest of his costume and staggered up the stares that lead to the mansion, Ace following after him. Then up more stares to the residential wing of the building, Ace never leaving his side. Master cast a contemplative glance at the bathroom, more likely the shower that lay within it, but seemed to decide that he didn't want to stand-up for the ten minuets it would take to get clean.

He flopped down in bed, sweaty and dirty and was blissfully asleep before his head even hit the pillow.

Ace waited one… two… three beats before deciding that his Master was good and truly asleep before jumping up and finding himself a nice spot at the foot of the bed where he curled up and was very soon also blissfully asleep.

…

Krypto stretched and yawned.

Dinner with Master's puppy and his friends had been great! They had fed him people-food! Master never gave him people-food! It had just been some cut-up bits of chicken from their own dinner, but it had been wonderful! Maybe if he was extra good he'd get some peanut butter next time! Krypto loved peanut butter!

After dinner he had become the center of attention, the female martian had brushed his fur while Master's puppy and the others mused over where he could have come from. They decided that while he had no collar or tags, he couldn't be a stray because his fur was too healthy, he looked to well fed and he smelled vaguely of doggie shampoo (from the bath he had escaped). Obviously, someone cared about him and would probably be looking for him.

What Krypto didn't understand was why the Bat-puppy -the Robin-person- didn't just tell them who he was. The Robin-person recognized him.

Or was this one of those things where he couldn't (or wouldn't) just tell them, they had to figure it out on their own? The Bat-person did that with Master some times. There would be something that was glaringly obvious to Bat-person but not to Master and rather than just strait-up explaining it to Master the Bat-person would wait until he arrived at the same conclusion on his own (usually frustrating Master greatly in the process).

Well, if Robin-person wasn't going to tell them who he was then he must have a reason, after all, the Bats had reasons for everything they did. So, Krypto resolved he wouldn't tell them either. For the time that he was with Master's puppy and his friends, he would not use his powers in front of them. It would be like a game!

The Robin-person had, however, suggested that they make Found posters of him and put them up around town. There had then ensued an hour's worth of the females taking pictures of him posing, playing or lounging. Krypto loved the attention! Neither Master nor his mate ever gave him this much attention!

Then it finally came time for everyone to go to bed.

Krypto had followed Master's puppy to his room, intent on sleeping at the foot of his bed, only to discover that Master's puppy had no bed. His room, in fact, was to small to fit one. The Master's puppy slept in a room that was no bigger than a broom closet! There wasn't even enough space for him to lay down on the floor! Needless to say, the room wasn't big enough for the both of them and the puppy quickly shooed Krypto out, shutting the door behind him.

Wolf had come up then, laying himself across the closed doorway and glaring menacingly at the Superdog. His message was clear, 'My person!'

So, Krypto had spent the night in the common room and not at the foot of anyone's bed. He had considered crawling into bed with the Robin-person, but he didn't want Ace to think he was trying to steal him. The great dane was rather territorial of his persons and would not take kindly to the Robin-person coming home smelling like another dog.

So, the Superdog had spent the night alone, and that was what brought him now to this morning.

The two-leggers all shambled into the common room at various levels of wakefulness. The Robin-person and Aqua-person were first to enter, both yawning. Then came the Flash-puppy, he moved quickly as if awake, but after watching him bump into a couple of walls and some furniture, Krypto decided that he, in fact, was not. Then came the Artemis-person fully dressed, also yawning, but otherwise ready to face the day and the Zatanna-puppy, still in her pajamas and looking downcast. Master's puppy and the female martian emerged last, together, their paws around each other's waists and smelling of one another.

The martian began toasting bread and frying bacon for everyone.

"Ya know," Master's puppy began, addressing everyone. "You don't have to wait for M'gann to cook. You all are perfectly capable to making your own breakfast."

"I don't mind." The martian assured him as she pulled off some stripps of raw bacon and offered them to Wolf and Krypto.

More people-food! Oh, this was glorious!

As they were all eating, the Robin-person called-up one of the holographic screens generated by the Cave's computer. He showed it to everyone else. "This is my mock-up of the Found poster for him." He tilted his head toward Krypto. "You don't need much, just the fact that we found him, his picture and a number to call. I hope you don't mind I used your civilian cell number. I don't think Bats would much like it if we had people calling the Cave."

Krypto noted that the little Bat-puppy smiled ever so slightly as he explained this. It was a smile similar to something he'd seen on the Bat-person's face many times when he knew something that Master didn't know but had no intention of telling him.

"I figure, we'll print out a few copies and post them around town. See if anyone responds."

…

Wolf did not appreciate being left in the Den with the new dog (whom Alpha had decided to name 'Dog').

The entire Pack had left to post the signs that would summon a two-legger to come and take the stupid dog away. He didn't fit in with the Pack hierarchy, he did not belong. Wolf could not wait until he left.

The Dog, however, seemed determined to make friends with him. He hopped around Wolf excitedly, hoping to coax the cobra-venom enhanced predator into a game. He would hop around the Wolf, then dash forward and paw at him with an expectant "Arf!" then dash away, expecting Wolf to chase him.

Wolf did not chase him. Wolf remained where he was, just inside the main hangar door, sitting dignified and waiting patiently for Alpha and the rest of the Pack to return and take the obnoxious canine away.

Dog gave up and with a huff and a sigh laid down next to the Wolf to watch the hangar door. He offered a soft groan as if to say, 'You're no fun.'

Wolf offered no response in return. He liked to think that he had plenty of fun whenever he would accompany Alpha and the Pack on missions or when it was just the two of them (especially when it was just the two of them). But this dog couldn't be included in any of that. He was just a simple house-dog and was nowhere near durable enough to be able to hold his own on one of the Pack's missions.

The Dog rolled over on his side and whined, once again pawing at Wolf. 'You need to lighten up. Come play with me.'

Wolf continued to ignore him.

'C'mon, lets play.' Dog insisted. He got up and resumed circling the Wolf, though this time he did not hop or yip as much. He would paw at him every now and again or try to nip at his legs or tail.

Wolf moved just enough to dodge the Dog's nips, but not enough to allow himself to be coaxed into the game. If the cobra-venom enhanced predator really did indulge in rough housing with a normal domesticated dog, he could tear him apart and kill him easily. That would make Alpha mad, and so Wolf checked himself as best he could.

That was, until Dog managed to bite down hard on his tail.

Wolf gave a howling snarl of pain and wheeled around to smack the Dog with his forepaw. The smaller dog went flying across the room and Wolf was struck by a sudden panic that he'd just done what he had been trying not to do, he had killed the annoying dog. So startled was he that it didn't occur to him that a normal dog should not have been able to hurt him like that in the first place. …And then he saw the Dog do a summersault in mid-air, rebound off the far wall and then glide back to where Wolf sat, all the while panting happily, tongue lolling to the side.

'Now lets play.' The apparently super-dog yipped.

Wolf suppressed a sigh. No good could come of this. The dog was probably the result of another experiment as he had been, as Alpha had been. That meant that evil was afoot and another mission was on the rise. But… at least until the excrement hit the wind-making machine he had a companion of his own. Maybe he could find a place for Dog in the Pack's hierarchy.

'Alright, Dog, lets see who's dominant.'

…

When the rest of the Pack returned to the Den that evening after a day of putting up posters, it was to find Dog lounging on Wolf's over-sized doggie-bed and gnawing on one of Wolf's chew toys while the cobra-venom enhanced predator glared from the opposite side of the room, looking very much like a chastised pup.

Everyone assumed that Wolf had been nice and was sharing with the smaller dog. They had no idea that the stray he'd brought in last night had super-powers and had kicked Wolf's tail in a battle to assert dominance.

Poor Wolf, he never seemed able to catch a break.

…

Dick kept one of the flyers for himself.

He brought it back to the Batcave with him that Sunday night and set it on the computer consol as he went to change into his Robin uniform for patrol. Bruce picked it up, curious, and instantly recognized the white-haired blue eyed Superdog.

"You found Clark's dog?" He called over the screen the Boy Wonder was changing behind.

At the mention of 'Clark's dog', Ace lifted his head to pay closer attention. He once again hoped Krypto wasn't coming over to play. Yeah, the over-powered Superdog was a useful companion to have on missions and stuff, but that didn't mean that Ace liked to socialize with him outside of work.

"I didn't, Supey did." The boy answered.

"Really!" The Dark Knight suppressed a smile. "That's interesting."

"What are you gonna do?" Dick asked, coming around the screen, fastening his belt around his waist.

"Nothing." Bruce shrugged and handed the poster back to his little bird.

Robin grinned a wicked grin. "Then would you mind if I did something?"

"Could it, in any way, result in a pissed-off kryptonian smashing through my walls?"

"Probably not."

"Then have fun."

That was all the permission Dick needed. He crumpled up the flyer in his hands, then smoothed it back out, tore off a diagonal chunk of the bottom half so that Conner's phone number was missing but the Rhode Island area code was still there, then he crumpled it again. Dropping it on the ground he kicked it around the cave a bit, then smoothed it back out, left it on the floor, stepped on it a bit, rubbed it to smear the pattern of his boot treads so that Clark wouldn't recognize them then picked it back up and folded it carefully, placing it in his belt.

Bruce watched all of this as he leaned against the Batmobile, waiting for the Boy Wonder to announce that he was ready to go on patrol.

Dick switched on his JLA comm. "Clark, hey, its Robin. Listen… did Krypto get away from you recently? Because I found this flyer-"

There was a sonic boom and a rush of air and in the time it took the Bat and his bird to blink, the Man of Steel was standing in the center of the cave, his face a wash of relief.

"You found him!" Clark all but gasped at the boy. "Where is he? Has he been causing any trouble? I didn't hear about anything on the news waves."

Bruce placed a hand over the lower half of his mouth to hide the silent laugh that was pulling at his cheeks. He would not laugh, the Batman did not laugh. Whatever Dick was planning, it was already amusing and the Caped Crusader decided that it was worth the short delay to watch.

Dick was careful not to answer any of the Superman's questions, lest he be caught in a lie. Instead he pulled the flyer out of his belt and handed it to Clark. "This is Krypto, right?"

Clark took the flyer that said Found Dog at the top in a large bold font. Most of the poster was filled with the image of a white dog with big bright blue eyes that was unmistakably Krypto. There had been a contact number listed as well, but unfortunately the bottom half of the page had been torn so that only the area code was visible.

"Rhode Island." Clark said, more to himself than anyone else. "He's in Rhode Island. Well, at least he's close by."

"I found the flyer in Happy Harbor." Robin had to jump up to pat him on the shoulder because he was so tall.

"Happy Harbor?" Echoed the Superman. "That's where…"

…And Bruce figured this was as good a time as any to step in. "Robin!" He snapped, making sure to put just the right amount of impatience into his voice. "Have you forgotten about our patrol. The city's not gonna drop everything just because Superman lost his dog."

"Right, right, I'm coming." He hopped in the Batmobile and shut the passenger side door.

"Patrol on a school night?" Clark asked disapprovingly.

"Always." Was Bruce's answer.

…

Clark landed in the middle of Happy Harbor's downtown.

Happy Harbor was not a particularly large town. It was bigger than Smallville but still smaller than Central City. It fit very nicely into the classification of 'American small town'. As such, to spite the fact that it was the middle of the downtown district, there was no one else around at the 'late' hour of eleven forty-five in the evening. In this respect, Happy Harbor was much more like Smallville than it was like Central or Keystone.

But Clark hadn't come here looking for people. He had come looking for his dog.

The Superman had suffered a short anxiety attack upon hearing that Krypto had found his way to Happy Harbor, the town closest to the Mt. Justice base. The town where his clone attended school. But after the initial shock had worn off, Clark's logic kicked in and he reminded himself that if Superboy had found the Superdog then he would be at the Cave, where Robin had just come from. The Boy Wonder would have just said, 'He's at the Cave.' and that would have been that.

Instead, he had presented Clark with a flyer. That meant that someone else had found Krypto and was try to return him to his rightful owner. The fact that Krypto just happened to have been found in Happy Harbor was an unrelated coincidence.

He found an undamaged flyer stapled to a telephone poll and pulled it off. Clark noted that no address was listed on the flyer, so he couldn't just fly by the person's home and pick up his wayward companion. But at least now he had the complete phone number to contact the person. But it was a little late to call now –almost midnight. It would have to wait until tomorrow.


	3. Clark & Conner

It was in Conner's first period history class that his phone rang.

It was actually in the middle of a test in the middle of Conner's first period history class.

The room was utterly silent but for the scratch of pencils on paper as everyone filled-out their multiple-choice scantrons with their number two pencils. And then… Conner felt the phone vibrate a warning in his pocket before the silent and peaceful atmosphere was shattered by his ringtone.

'If I go crazy will you still call me Superman…?'

All eyes in the room focused on him.

Mr. Carr stood up from his desk with a sigh as Conner struggled to pull his phone out of his pocket and silence the ring.

'If I'm alive and well, will you still be there-'

There! It was off.

Mr. Carr loomed over him menacingly. He extended his hand. "Hand it over."

Sheepishly, Conner turned his phone over to the teacher.

"You can have this back after school."

…

Clark listened to the phone ring… and ring… and ring.

Until the message box finally picked up. It was one of those synthetic voices, the ones that said, "You have reached the phone of…" and then paused so that the owner of said phone could fill in their own name. In this case it was the voice of an unsure and awkward sounding boy, "uh, Conner Ke-" his surname was cut-off as the synthetic voice continued with instructions to leave a call-back number press one. To page this person press two. To leave a message wait until you hear the tone.

Clark waited until he heard the tone, then left his message.

When he was done, he considered the short two-second clip of the boy's voice that he'd heard. He couldn't shake the feeling that he'd heard that voice somewhere before, he just couldn't place where. Maybe someone he'd helped as Superman?

Yes… He vaguely imagined that voice saying something like, 'Maybe… you could help me with that?' That was the sort of thing someone might say to Superman. He just couldn't place a face to the voice.

But then again, he couldn't remember ever helping anyone in Happy Harbor. True, Mt. Justice used to be the old base for the Justice League, but he hadn't really spent much time in the town. In fact, aside from last night's trip to grab a flyer with the phone number intact, Clark could not remember having ever actually been to Happy Harbor before.

So then, where had he heard that boy's voice before…?

…

After school Zatanna went to watch M'gann's cheerleader practice while Conner made his way back to Mr. Carr's class to retrieve his phone. He would have much rather watch M'gann in her cheerleader uniform, but he needed that phone. That was the only number they'd put on the posters for Dog. It was the only way for Dog's real owner to get in touch with him. (That, and all his achievements for Fruit Ninja were in that phone.)

Mr. Carr gave him a lecture on responsibility and accountability and told him to make sure that he kept it turned off while in class from now on. Conner nodded and promised he would before pocketing the phone and dashing off to the field. Maybe if he was lucky he could catch the end of M'gann's cheerleader practice.

He did not catch the end of M'gann's cheerleader practice.

But he was just in time to carry her books. …and Zatanna's too, while he was at it.

Conner suppressed a sigh, as he was loaded down with the girls' school things. Just because he had super-strength did not mean he enjoyed being a packhorse. He carried M'gann's books because, well, that should have been obvious. But Zatanna could carry her own! Except… she had just lost her father, okay, fine maybe he could give her this one small kindness. Load it on! He was a packhorse.

It was as they were exiting campus, Conner carrying all three of their backpacks and the girls carrying nothing, that M'gann asked if he'd returned the call yet. Conner shifted the three backpacks to pull the phone out of his pocket. He opened the call-history and paused at the most recent number listed, the incoming call from that morning.

"Huh, that's a Delaware area code."

"So?" M'gann shrugged.

"So, that's, like, four states away." Conner elaborated. "Who louses their dog four states away from where they live?"

"Road trip?" Zatanna offered. "People like to take their dogs with them when they go on trips. Or maybe they just recently moved here from Delaware and just haven't changed their number yet."

"Conner, just call them back." M'gann huffed.

…

The Daily Planet bull pin was a chaotic mess, but then, it was always a chaotic mess. Fingers clacked over keys, papers fluttered, phones rang, voices shouted over the din…

Lois Lane-Kent paused typing her article on gun smuggling through Hobs Bay to crack her knuckles. Few people were aware of the hyphen in her name since the by lines of her articles continued to read just Lane, even after two years of marriage. She sighed, stretched and glanced over at the afore mentioned husband's desk.

Clark Kent was not there. His glasses rested beside the keyboard as if just casually set down, his jacket hung over the back of the chair so proper and dignified. Where had he gotten off to, she wondered.

As if in answer to this unasked question, an explosion sounded from across town, sending a slight shockwave that rattled the Planet's windows. Ah. That would be where he was. Lois made a silent bet with herself as she slipped off her heels and pulled a pair of good running shoes out of her bottom desk drawer. Lex Corp. robot or marauding space-bounty hunters…? She pulled her laces tight and tied a double knot. It was just as she was passing Clark's desk that his jacket began to ring.

Or more accurately, the phone in the pocket of his jacket began to ring.

'Superman never made any money, for saving the world from Solomon Grundy…'

She was about to rush on past it without giving the phone a second thought, but that second thought occurred on its own. People called Clark's cell so rarely, in fact, Lois was pretty sure the only people who called Clark on his cell phone were Jimmy, herself and them Martha and Jonathan Kent. Jimmy was already rushing towards the elevators (ahead of her! that would be the day… when Jimmy Olsen beat her to a story!), but he certainly didn't have a phone to his ear, so it wasn't him calling Clark and Lois was pretty sure it wasn't her. That left Ma and Pa.

With a sigh, she pulled the phone from Clark's pocket and tapped the touch screen to answer.

"Hi." She said cheerily as she dashed to catch the elevator, which Jimmy was wisely holding for her. Yes, he knew better than to try and delay her when dashing out to catch a Superman story.

"Uh… hi." The voice that answered her back was decidedly not Martha Kent! Nor was it Jonathan Kent, though it was male. He sounded young, in his mid or late teens, maybe. "I, um, I'm returning a call I got from this number…?"

He sounded very awkward and unsure of himself. Poor kid. In the background Lois heard a second voice, female this time but also mid-teens say, "Ask them about the dog."

"Oh, you're calling about my husband's dog." She tapped her rubber-soled toe on the elevator floor, cursing the moderate pace at which they were descending.

Next to her Jimmy lifted his head in confusion and mild disbelief. "You and CK have a dog?"

Lois covered the phone with her hand and whispered to Jimmy, "Its Clark's dog from Kansas. We don't have room for one in our apartment."

"Uh, yeah." Continued the boy on the phone. "My friends and I found a dog last Saturday and are trying to return him to his owner."

Lois thought it was a little odd that this person didn't mention the dog having super-powers at all. One would think that something like that would be hard to miss. But then again, they did live in a world where a pair of glasses and a comb-over managed to fool a man's most intimate friends and co-workers for years. Better make sure it was the right dog. "Is he all white with blue eyes and an obnoxiously energetic and friendly disposition."

"Yes."

"That's him." If that last line was a bit breathy, it was only because she had dashed out of the elevator before the door had even opened fully. Lois zipped through the building's lobby and waved her arm madly to flag down a taxi. One pulled up along side her and she yanked the door open just as Jimmy came-up beside her. "Move your feet, Olsen! Time is news!"

"Excuse me, what?" The voice on the phone asked in confusion.

"Not you, kid." She pushed Jimmy in the cab and then climbed in after him, slamming the door shut behind them. Jimmy gave the directions to follow Superman's trail of chaos since she was on the phone and Lois took the opportunity to pull out her reporter's notepad. She flipped to a blank page and said, "Sorry, but I'm a bit busy right now. If there's somewhere you'd like to meet, I can send Clark to meet you and take the dog off your hands. Like a coffee shop or something?"

"Uh, sure." Then to the person, actually, make that people whom where in the background he asked for recommendations for a meeting place. Then he came back to give her the name and address of a Starbucks.

She took it all down. "Okay, thanks. I'll make sure he gets this. And… this is gonna sound like a weird question, but can you also tell me the town you're in? Town and state, actually." He sounded awkward and even more confused as he told her. The place sounded vaguely familiar, Happy Harbor, Rhode Island... She made a small note to ask Clark about it later. "Great. Thanks. And he can reach you at this number if he's running late? Okay. Thanks. Bye."

…

Wolf and Dog were playing when Alpha and the two females returned to the Den. While the cobra-venom enhanced predator didn't much care for being pushed down a rung on the pack hierarchy by the super-Dog, he had to begrudgingly admit that it was nice having a companion to play with while Alpha was away.

Sphere gave an indignant little trill.

Okay, a companion with four legs, fur and a tail to play with. Sphere was a pleasant enough companion for company while Alpha was out, but her kind of company was rather passive. They would just lounge around in the hangar together, enjoying each other's proximity but not doing much else. Dog, on the other hand, was full of energy and almost constantly moving.

With Dog, Wolf could play chassy-chassy, and tug-o-war (until the knotted rope snapped under the strain), and they could roughhouse. The only other member of the Pack that Wolf had been able to roughhouse with before was Alpha (and once the two-legged fish), and he didn't usually have the time or inclination to play like that unless it was for 'training'. Though, Wolf wasn't sure which of them was being trained.

But Dog loved to roughhouse! Which was great because Wolf loved to roughhouse too.

They stopped playing, however, when Alpha entered. Dog pulling away first as if he were trying to hide his super-strength, and Wolf was suddenly reminded that Dog would probably turn out to be a bad-dog.

Dog rushed to greet Alpha as he entered. Jumping up (like a normal dog, not using his super-powers) and braced his paws against Alpha's chest to lick his chin.

"Down." Alpha commanded and Wolf felt scandalized to see that Dog did not instantly comply with a direct command. It was unheard of! He felt like he was suddenly witnessing the breakdown of the very pack hierarchy itself, the very glue that held a pack together. Without it they were no better than savages! "Down." Alpha said again and this time took hold of Dog's forepaws and forced him back to all fours. "No jumping."

Dog licked his hand affectionately and wagged his tail enthusiastically. Wolf was much more composed; he sat just behind Dog, waiting patiently. Alpha would greet him when he was ready.

"Did you have fun with Wolf today?" He continued to coo at Dog. "I hope he wasn't to rough on you."

Wolf gave a soft 'arf' under his breath. His personal equivalent to muttering, 'Yeah right.'

It was then that Alpha crossed the distance to him and gave Wolf the appropriate scratchies and pats. "Sorry, I'm gonna have to take your friend from you, boy." He said. "But his owner called and he's got to go home."

Wolf suddenly found that he didn't want Dog to go. True, the obnoxious domesticated dog had only been with them for a couple of days, but they had become fast friends and it had been nice having a companion to play with when the other two-legger members of the Pack were unavailable. A disappointed whine escaped his throat.

"Aw, I'm sorry, boy." Alpha ruffled the fur on his head. "I didn't know you two had become such good friends. Go ahead and say your good-byes."

Dog rushed forward and began licking Wolf along the ears and snout, his tail never pausing in its quick tok-tok-tok wag. 'I had lots of fun playing with you, Wolf! Ace doesn't play like you do. Maybe Master will let me come and visit again some time!'

"He'll need a leash." The Zatanna-pup said and then, speaking in an archaic tongue, conjured a bright blue collar with matching leash attached, around Dog's neck.

Alpha took the looped end of the leash. "Blue?"

"I thought it would bring out his eyes."

"How about red?" Alpha asked.

"Jeez, picky, picky, picky…" She once again chanted in her magic-speak and the blue collar and leash turned red. "Happy?"

"Yes." He gave the leash a light tug. "C'mon, Dog. Lets get you back to your family."

…

Krypto hopped along happily beside Master's puppy. He wanted to hover up and lick the puppy's face to show him just what a good time he'd had and how much he liked him. He wanted to take the puppy flying on a proper walkies with him. But the Robin-person, Bat-person's puppy, hadn't told Master's puppy who he was. So that meant that he couldn't do those things. He had to trot along side Master's puppy, all four paws touching the ground as he moved.

Whiskers! That was no fun!

Krypto walked with the puppy to a place where two-leggers gathered to drink from narrow paper bowls. Master's puppy tied the leash to a table leg outside and went in to get a drink. Three minuets later, he emerged holding a tall paper bowl that smelled of apple cider and caramel. That was the same drink Master got! Krypto gave an excited "Arf!" at this small fact that made the puppy more like Master than like Luthor.

The puppy sat to wait and after a few moments of absolutely nothing interesting happening, Krypto heaved a heavy yawn of boredom and laid down beside the puppy's chair, his hind paws tucked up underneath him, his forepaws stretched out in front. This was how they remained until Master finally appeared.

It was Krypto that noticed him first. Catching his scent on the breeze and then following it with his eyes until he saw a flash of red land in an ally across the street. A few moments later, Master emerged wearing his powder-blue suit, pulling his fedora hat down over his head with one hand and adjusting the metal circles on his face with the other. Krypto barked at him happily.

Master returned his excited barks with a relived smile. But that smile quickly turned into a troubled frown when he saw that it was his puppy who sat with the Superdog. Krypto didn't understand. Did Master not like his puppy? Why would Master not like his puppy? Was the puppy bad? Was it because he was Luthor's puppy too? The puppy hadn't seemed Luthor-like at all while Krypto had been staying with him. Why did Master not like him?

Heaving a heavy sigh and adjusting his metal face-circles a second time, Master crossed the street and greeted his puppy. "Hi, I'm here to pick up my dog."

"Are you Clark?" The puppy looked at him oddly. The same way Bat-person sometimes looks at a piece of evidence, knowing it was significant somehow but not how or why. Didn't the puppy not know his own sire? Or had the puppy never met Master before?

"That's me." Master nodded a bit stiffly. "Are you Conner?"

"Yeah."

There was a second chair at the table but Master did not sit.

Krypto walked up to lick Masters hand and try to push him towards the second chair. But Master only patted him on the head and did not budge. The puppy, for his part, untied Krypto's leash from the table leg and handed it to Master, his eyes never leaving Master's face, as if transfixed.

"Do I have something on my face?" Master asked, once again adjusting his metal face-circles.

"No…" The puppy answered slowly. "Its just, you look… familiar."

Krypto could not believe what he was hearing. Master didn't like his puppy and puppy didn't know his sire! What was going on here? It wasn't like Master to not like a person and especially not a puppy and double-especially not a puppy of his. Master was always happy to meet other kryptonians. He should be doubly happy for one of those kryptonians to be his own puppy. This was so unlike Master!

Krypto turned around and grabbed hold of the puppy's shirt with his teeth, using it as a sort of 'human leash' to pull the puppy closer to Master.

"No, boy. Let go!" The puppy protested and the Krypto heard a few of the shirt's cotton fibers tear, but he didn't care.

The Superdog then turned around and bit down lightly on Master's belt buckle and pulled him closer to the puppy.

"Krypto, stop! Bad." Master hissed.

"'Krypto'?" The puppy echoed. Was that surprise or alarm in his voice? Or was it both. Krypto couldn't tell. Everything about this seemed wrong. Master suddenly seemed panicked. Like he'd let slip something vital to an enemy. But… this was his puppy! His puppy wasn't an enemy. His puppy was nice. His puppy was friends with the Bat-person's puppy. "As in…?"

"As in the noble gas." Said Master quickly, to quickly. … And it was a lie! But Master never lied. What was going on! "Ya know, number thirty-six on the periodic table who's atomic symbol-"

"Who's atomic symbol is 'Kr'." The puppy sounded so forlorn, so desolate when he said this. Krypto gave a sympathetic whine by his side.

"You know your chemistry." Why was Master acting this way? Master never acted like this. It suddenly felt like Krypto's world was turning upside down.

"Yeah, chemistry…"

"Well, we better get going if we're gonna be home before dinner." Master took the end of Krypto's leash. "Thank you for returning my dog to me. I've been really worried about him. C'mon, boy."


	4. Pet-World's Finest

Ace reclined in the back seat of the Batmobile, panting happily. Master and the Dick-puppy (excuse me, Robin-puppy, he was the Robin-puppy at the moment) were working on a particularly difficult case this evening and had decided that his nose would be an invaluable asset. The Bathound was overjoyed to be of service.

He was thrown off balance momentarily by the sudden breaking and swerve of the car as Master made a particularly hard turn at an ungodly speed. But that was just the way Master drove, Ace was used to it. He did, however, growl out a short clip of a "Bark!" to express his displeasure at nearly being thrown into the back of Robin-puppy's seat.

Robin-puppy, for his part, turned around in his seat to reach an arm in the back and scratch Ace behind the ears. Wriggling his finger underneath the Bathound's mask to do so. "You okay, boy?"

Ace gave much more up-beat "bark" of affirmative and continued his happy pantings, his tail wagging furiously in his high spirits. Robin-puppy withdrew his hand, making sure to readjust the Bathound's mask so that it was arranged properly around Ace's head, before turning back around in his seat and facing forward.

"He's not carsick, is he?" Master asked.

"No." The puppy assured him.

The Bathound offered an indignant groan. He had never gotten carsick before in his life! That one time –one time that there had been spit-up in the backseat of the Batmobile had been Krypto's fault. The damn over-energetic kryptonian moron could fly around the world faster than the speed of sound, but one night driving with his Master and the goody-two-paws creampuff was sick all over the upholstery. The Batmobile swerved again and Ace was thrown against the side window this time. Krypto the so-called 'Superdog' was a… what was that derogatory term Master used? Something to do with cats… pussy! Yes, Krypto was a pussy.

The Batmobile turned onto a relatively clear and mostly strait service way along the docs. Ace could be assured of no more crazy driving or the rest of the ride. (Unless the car was flung into the water. That happened some times.)

The comm on the Batmobile's dashboard gave a trill and the Robin-puppy pressed a button to answer. But it was Master who spoke first, never taking his eyes off the road in front of them. "This is Batman. Go ahead."

"Bruce," Clark-person's voice crackled out of the speakers, sounding testy and annoyed. "Do you have any idea what your side-kick has done?"

Robin-puppy's black-gloved hand went to his mouth to stifle a snicker of laughter while the corners of Master's mouth curled upwards in the closest thing to a smile he ever allowed while in uniform. "Do you mean in general, or are you talking about something specific?"

"He set me up with my clone!" The Clark-person roared, causing the Batmobile's speakers to make an unpleasant wail that hurt Ace's ears. The Bathound whined in displeasure.

"Must have been an awkward date." Master joked. "What with you being married and all… and the fact that you'd basically be seeing yourself. That's gotta be narcissism in its purest form."

Master seemed to be having a good time with this. Krypto should get himself lost more often, if it amused Master this much. And Master was always so very hard to amuse.

"Don't joke!" Clark-person continued. "This is serious! I went to meet him as Clark Kent! And I made the mistake of calling Krypto by his name. Superboy, or 'Conner' I guess, knows who I am!"

"He recognized you?" It was clear by Master's tone he had a hard time believing that. After all, Clark-person's most intimate friends and co-workers couldn't see through his glasses.

"Well… not exactly… He said I looked 'familiar'. But it can't take him long to figure it out!"

"I donno…" Master wondered aloud. "He is your clone after all. He may never figure it out. Oh! This is my stop. Gotta go hospitalize some bad guys!"

Master switched off the comm before Clark-person could reply to that not-so-subtle dart at the Super-person's deductive skills.

…

Master gave a very dog-like snarl and pulled the ear-bud from his ear, flinging it across the room in frustration, where it promptly imbedded itself in the drywall.

Krypto gave a whine and ducked under the coffee table, for whatever feeble protection its ordinary terrestrial wood would provide. He didn't understand why Master was so mad. Krypto had never seen him so livid. You'd think Luthor had kidnapped his mate again, the way he had brooded all the way back to Metropolis. Usually, Krypto would be ecstatic at being allowed to stay in the home Master shared with his mate, but the way Master was acting made him uncomfortable.

He poked his head out from under the short table, ears drooping, eyes penitent though he had done nothing wrong, and whined up at Master. He stood in the center of the apartment's tiny living room, his paws balled into fists at his sides, breathing heavily. Then he sighed, took several calming breaths, straitened and turned –his gaze once again the gentle expression Krypto was more used to seeing.

"Sorry, boy." He said, hopping over the couch and kneeling down to pat the Superdog on the forehead. He gave scratchies behind the ears and under the chin. "I didn't mean to scare you."

Krypto licked his master's hand and inched his way out from under the table. Creeping further out, the Superdog pawed at his Master's knee, demanding an explanation for his apparent dislike and distrust of his puppy. The way Master was acting you'd think the puppy was an enemy! Was it just because he was Luthor's puppy too? Or was he actually a bad puppy on his own? He hadn't seemed back when Krypto had stayed with him.

Master heaved another sigh and stood. He disappeared into the bedroom and emerged a few moments later having exchanged his bright bleu and red uniform for a pair of navy sweatpants and a Smallville High sweatshirt. It was then that Krypto emerged fully from under the coffee table, judging his master to be back to normal. He floated over to the man and licked his face affectionately. Master once again gave scratchies and pets behind the ears and under his chin.

"Are you hungry boy?"

The Superdog gave an "Arf!" of affirmative and Master zipped to the apartment's tiny kitchen and pulled a bag of dog kibble out of the cupboard. He selected a normal soup bowl and filled it with the dry dog food. This he placed on the kitchen floor for Krypto. The Superdog gave a slightly less enthused "arf", when he'd been with Master's puppy he'd gotten to eat people-food.

But Master seemed not to notice his dissatisfaction with the offered kibble; he busied himself cooking dinner so that it'd be ready for when his mate returned home.

It was just as Master was pulling a roast out of the oven (one of Ma Kent's recipes) that his mate walked in the door. Throwing down her keys and purse on the couch and carefully laying two plastic-covered dry-cleaned suits over its back. Krypto tried his best to stay out of her way, he liked Master's mate (most of the time) and she liked him so long as he didn't annoy her to much.

"Welcome home." Master smiled at her as if as if all was right with the universe and he hadn't a care in the world. "Just in time for dinner."

She finished removing her coat, scarf and gloves before offering him a hello-kiss and inhaling deeply. "Mm, smells great! You're the best house-wife a woman could ask for." She gave him another peck on the cheek so that Master would know she was only teasing. She did that. "I figured between today's emergency and picking up Krypto you'd forget about your dry-cleaning, so I swung by and got it for you. Also, I picked up some more hair-gel for you since this morning your bottle looked a little empty."

Master rinsed his hands, dried them on his sweatpants and then wrapped his arms around her. "You take such good care of me."

"And I know it." She pulled out of his arms, retrieved Master's dry-cleaning from the couch and disappeared into the bedroom, presumably to hang them up. It was only after she emerged that she noticed the JLA communications ear-bud embedded in the wall. She crossed the room and plucked the advanced comm-bud from where it had just missed hitting the wedding photo. "You and Batman have a lovers-quarrel?"

"Lois!" Master did not appreciate her joking that he and the Bat-person were also mates.

Lois crossed her arms over her chest, planted her feet, dropped one hip and gave Master a look. She had several looks, each with its own silent meaning and each forcing a different reaction out of Master. This particular look was something like, 'All joking aside, he said or did something that made you angry enough to throw something halfway through a wall. You're gonna tell me what it was and you're gonna tell me now!' Yes, all of that was conveyed in a single facial expression.

Master sighed. "Its nothing you need to worry about, really. Dick just played a nasty prank on me and Bruce didn't think anything of it."

A prank? Master thought that meeting with his puppy had been a 'nasty prank'? That tore it! Something was wrong with Master. Either mind control or some sort of corruption or maybe he'd found a new chunk of red-kryptonite and that was why he was acting so weird. Whatever it was, Krypto knew he wasn't going to figure it out on his own. He'd need help. He would need the World's Greatest Detective Dog.

He gave a short "Arf" to announce his exit before flying out the still open apartment window.

"Dang it! And I just got him back, too."

…

Ace had tracked the bad guys to a shipping container on the lower aft deck of the cargo ship Real Spruce. When he was sure of their location, he froze; one leg curled up as if to take a step, tail sticking strait out behind him, nose pointing forward –strait at the container. Master knelt beside him and, silently, withdrew a chunk of unseasoned beef jerky from his belt. This he presented to the Bathound for a job well done.

It was then, as Ace was happily swallowing his reward and Master and his puppy flanked the large container's doors, that something white, durable and obnoxiously friendly came crashing down through the three decks above them. It checked itself before it punched through the floor beneath them and sank the ship. It was then that they all could clearly see that this thing was a dog, a white-furred, blue-eyes, Superdog.

Two things happened very fast.

One, the villains that Master had been stalking burst from their shipping container-meeting room, guns blazing.

Two, Krypto seized Ace by the back of the neck and lifted him up out of the ship through the very hole he had created no more than a moment before. Leaving Master and the Dick-puppy to dispatch the bad-guys by themselves.

…

One-thousand feet above the street, Ace the Bathound snapped and snarled from where he was suspended in the jaws of Krypto the Superdog. Although canines did not posess the human ability of speech his message was clear, 'What in the high holy dog-heaven are you doing! Put me down you aggravating piece of flea-bitten alien mutt!'

With reluctance, the Superdog descended until Ace's paws touched softly down on the broken asphalt of one of Gotham's many back-allies. Krypto, himself, landed in front of the Bathound, effectively blocking the only clear path out of the alley. He curled his tail around his hind paws and whined indignantly as he sat. 'I'm not a mutt.'

'I don't care.'

'And I don't have fleas.'

'I don't care about that either.' Ace gave a snarl, baring his teeth in hostility. He knew that he could never win in an all-out dog-fight against Krypto, but then, he also knew that Krypto would never actually fight him. It was for this reason that the Bathound was usually able to cow the Superdog into submission (rather much how his own Master forced the Clark-person's submission, actually). 'Take me back to where you found me, right now! My Master needs me.'

'I'll take you back to your house when we're done.' Promised the Superdog. 'But I need your help Ace. There's something wrong with my own Master and I need you to help me figure out what.'

The Bathound suppressed a groan. Every time there was 'something wrong' with the Clark-person, his own Master lost countless nights of sleep trying to fix it. Maybe if he and Krypto managed to fix the problem before the rest of the two-leggers got caught-up in it… Ace fixed the Superdog with his best equivalent to his Master's patent-pending 'bat-glare' –waiting for krypto to elaborate.

The Superdog fidgeted under the intensity of the Bathound's gaze. He pawed at the ground in dejection. 'I just found out Master has a puppy, but Master doesn't like his puppy. I think Master thinks the puppy is bad, and that's not like Master at all. I need you to help me find out what's wrong with Master or why he thinks he's a bad-puppy.'

This was about the Super-puppy that Master had been trying to get Clark-person to claim. Was that all? Krypto did not have to pull him off of a case with Master for that. The Bathound was not impressed. His Bathound-glare did not lessen.

'Please, Ace?' Krypto whimpered under the intense reprimanding eyes. 'You're the one I go to for stuff like this.'

The Bathound heaved a sigh. He knew he was going to give in.

…

Later that evening, after a fight that was much harder than it needed to be, thanks to one Superdog whom shall remain nameless, Batman and Robin left their prey tied up with the evidence for the GPD to pick-up. The Dynamic Duo staggered back to the Batmobile and climbed into their respective seats, tired and sore.

"I hate that dog." Bruce groaned after he'd shut his door with a decisively disgruntled SLAM.

Dick pulled a water bottle from behind his seat and drank from it greedily. When he had his fill, he passed the bottle to his mentor. "He was so cute playing with Supey over the weekend, I forgot how much of a pain he can be."

Bruce wasn't listening. He waved the offered water bottle away as he punched in the call-code for Clark's JLA comm. The comm buzzed… and buzzed… and buzzed, but the Man of Steel did not pick-up. With a growl of frustration Bruce pulled out his civilian cell phone and dialed Clark's cell. It also rang several times before going to his message box (which was full because he never checked his civilian messages). Now Bruce was livid. Snarling to no one, he dialed the Lane-Kent home number. If he couldn't yell at Clark he would yell at his wife whom would then in turn yell at her husband because she got yelled at.

The home line also rang several times and just when the Dark Knight was about to give up and smash his phone over the dashboard in frustration someone picked-up.

"Hello?" Lois' voice was thick and husky when she spoke into the receiver –a bedroom voice, but not a sleepy voice. Three guesses what they were doing. But that explained why Clark hadn't answered his comm or his cell. It also meant he was home.

"Put your idiot husband on the phone!" Snarled the Batman.

A groan. "Smallville, you're boyfriend wants you."

In the background. "You promised to stop calling me Smallville in bed. And stop calling him that!" Then into the actual phone. "Bruce, I'm kinda busy right now."

"Shut-up! Where's my dog?" The Batman once again snarled into the phone.

"What?" Clark sounded utterly and completely confused.

"You're flea-bitten mutt crashed in on one of my cases, grabbed my Ace and flew off! Now, where's my dog, Clark? What has your flying alien rat done with him? Is he there?"

"Bruce, I can honestly say, I have no idea what you're talking about. Krypto took off again about an hour ago."

The Dark Knight gritted his teeth. "You will call me if he turns up in your area."

"Of course."

Bruce ended the call.

…

The two dogs compared notes, with Ace filling Krypto in on what he already knew of the Super-puppy from his Master. Everything was news to the Superdog and he was agast to learn that the puppy had been whelped back in July, his Master had seven whole month in which he could have claimed the puppy and yet he didn't. Not only did he not claim the puppy, but he also seemed to have tried to hide the puppy's existence from the rest of the family.

Krypto had never before been so disappointed in Master.

And then the Superdog asked Ace why his Master would neglect his puppy so badly.

'I don't know.' The Bathound had to admit. 'Usually in a case like this I'd interview the person-in-question's dog as a character witness. But in this instance, that would be you and you don't know anything.'

'Yeah.' The Superdog had to whimper in agreement. 'I don't know anything.' …and then after a pause. 'About why Master would neglect his puppy! I don't know anything about that, that's what you meant, right Ace?'

The World's Greatest Detective Dog deigned not to dignify that with a response. He knew what he meant and if the alien idiot didn't, well, that just proved his statement to be true then. Instead he growled, 'Since your account is useless we'll go to the other side of the case –the Super-puppy. Take me to the Cave, we'll interview the Wolf.'

Krypto gave an "Arf!" of sudden glee. He liked wolf, he liked to play a lot more than Ace did and he didn't have to be quite as gentle with the cobra-venom enhanced predator as he did with the Bathound. The Superdog happily seized his companion by the scruff of the neck and lifted them both into the air –up, up and away.

…

Alpha leaned against a tree not far from the Den's entrance, waiting patiently for Wolf to finish marking the Pack's territory. The cobra-venom enhanced predator never had quite figured out why the rest of the Pack did not mark their territory outside the Den, instead preferring to waste their scent marks in the water bowls they wouldn't let him drink out of. It made very little sense to the Wolf, but then, not much of this pack made sense. He had grown used to it.

He lowered his leg and moved on to the next tree along the perimeter he'd set up. Wolf had originally wanted to mark a wider area for his Pack, since it was so large and still seemed to be growing. The Zatanna-pup had recently become one of them and there was talk of another female called Rocket that might also join them. They would need a wide territory. But the others refused to mark territory and there was only so much ground Wolf could maintain on his own.

Okay, that was enough for this tree. Better move on to another…

Something dark, heavy and disgruntled dropped out of the sky and landed with a whimper and a whine (that he would never admit to). Wolf turned his attention to the disturbance just as a dark great dane wearing a and a collar with lots of pouches like the one the wingless bat wore. But he didn't have time to decide whether or not this strange new dog was encroaching on their territory or would become a new member of the pack, because almost immediately Dog came sailing down at a much more controlled decent.

He rushed up to the Wolf, tail wagging happily behind him, and licked the predator's ears and snout in a friendly greeting.

'Dog! What are you doing back here? I thought Alpha returned you to your two-legger.' And then as an after-thought, 'Why is that dog wearing a mask?'

Never being one to waste time or mince communication, the Bathound stepped forward. If he left explanations in Krypto's paws they would be here all night while the Superdog recounted their life stories and their exploits as the Pet-World's Finest. Ace didn't have time or patience for that, he wanted to get back to his own Master and puppy.

'I'm the goddamn Bathound.' He growled. 'And I'm here to ask you some questions.'


	5. Mrs. Superman

Wolf said very little in answer to Ace's questions. The North Indian wolf had joined the Justice-puppies' Team a few months after the tension between the Super-puppy and Clark-person had simmered down, it hadn't seemed to be on the Super-puppy's mind as often or as much and so Wolf had not been as exposed to it as much as the two-leggers had. Still, from the information the Bathound could glean from the cobra-venom enhanced predator the Super-puppy was emotionally unfulfilled.

The fact that he seemed to collect strays was a key indicator of this. Clark-person's constant rejection of him had created an emotional void that the Super-puppy was trying to fill by rescuing other strays and cast-off that had also been the unwilling victims of experimentation. In a sense, it wasn't so different from what Ace's own Master did, only instead of collecting human-puppies, the Super-puppy was collecting pets. Since he lacked a father-figure of his own (since Clark-person was MIA at the moment), the Super-puppy instead was setting himself up to be his own father-figure by giving care and affection to other creatures.

None of this helped Ace to solve the original question Krypto had brought to him of 'Why Clark-person would not claim his puppy?'

But it was starting to look like the answer to that question couldn't be solved in one night. Ace thanked Wolf for his cooperation and dismissed the witness. The Bathound then turned his attention back to his Superdog companion (whom had spent most of the conversation rolling in something that smelled rather strong). Ace sniffed the spot Krypto seemed to like so much, deemed it to his liking and likewise indulged in a quick tumble through the dewy grass. When he had satisfied himself, the Bathound demanded to be returned to the Batcave to cogitate on what they had learned.

…

Krypto spent much of the week at the Kent Farm with Pa and Ma.

It wasn't just because he now felt awkward around Master, but also because on the farm he didn't have to worry about baths as much. The elder Kents understood a dog's necessity to be a bit dirty and smell like all the interesting places they'd been. (That, and they didn't let him in the house, so it mattered less to them if he was covered in mud and smelled of five different kinds of animal excrement –none of them his own).

It was one day when Lana-person was over that Krypto got an idea of how to straiten out this issue of Master and his unwanted puppy. Lana-person had been one of Master's best friends when he was a puppy and she had married Master's other best friend Peter-person. She came over to the farm one day to confide in Ma that she and Pete-person were going to have a puppy of their own! But that she hadn't told her mate yet. Krypto thought that was stupid, he should know she was going to whelp by her scent. Then he remembered that humans couldn't smell as well as he could. But then a different thought struck him.

Did Master's mate know about his puppy?

It stood to reason that she did not. Krypto had not known about him until he'd run into his Wolf simply by accident. On Monday night when she asked Master what was troubling him, he hadn't said anything about his puppy; just that the Bat-person's puppy had played a mean trick on him. It stood to reason then that Master had hidden the knowlage of his puppy from his mate just as he had from Krypto …and probably Ma and Pa, too, now that he thought about it.

Right. Well, there was an easy way to fix this. He just had to introduce Master's puppy to Master's mate. He could do that easily.

…

Master's mate was just slipping on a pair of sensible heels when Krypto scratched on the windowsill to be let in. She looked up at the Superdog before crossing the room to unlatch and lift the window.

"Clark's not here right now." She informed him, reaching a hand out to scratch the Superdog under the chin. She had nice long nails and gave better scratchies than Master did. Before she could withdraw her hand, however, Krypto grabbed the sleeve of her blazer and pulled. "Krypto, what are you doing!"

She gripped madly at the windowsill as the Superdog's tug had thrown her off balance and nearly caused her to tumble out the window. He tried getting a better grip on her sleeve, careful not to graze her weak human skin with his teeth and gave he another strong jerk. This time Lois did come tumbling out the window, screaming curses at Krypto as she did so.

But the Superdog had planned this. He dove to intercept her fall, positioned himself under her and caught her on his back. She grabbed on instinctively, wrapping her arms around his neck and straddling her hindquarters with her own legs. The end result was that Master's mate now rode him like a dramatically under-sized horse. The worse that came of his little plan was that she lost a shoe.

"You stupid dog! What the hell do you think you're doing! Where are you taking me?"

Krypto ignored her wails, protest and questions. It wasn't like he could answer in a way that she'd understand anyway. He flew them strait to Mt. Justice. It was high time Master's mate met Master's puppy.

…

Alpha returned home with Alpha-female and the Zatanna-pup.

It was Friday, which meant that the rest of the Pack would likewise be arriving soon and might quite possibly receive a mission from the two-legged bat. Wolf hoped so, mission weekends were always so much better than non-mission weekends.

Alpha's mate tossed her backpack down on the couch and stretched, her skin-color shifting from Caucasian-peach to martian-vermillion as she did so. She sighed, "I don't feel like cooking tonight. What do you guys say to take-out?"

"We can't have anything delivered to the Cave." Alpha reminded her, likewise throwing his backpack down and flopping on the couch. He turned on the TV but not the cable-box and reclined, perfectly content to watch nothing but static.

"I know that." Alpha-female huffed. "But we could pick something up and bring it back here. How about that pizza place Mal told you about?"

Wolf was disappointed. If they were going to go out for food then that meant that he would be left at the Den. Normal domesticated animals were not allowed in two-legger meal-dens, but he was a wolf, a 'wild animal', and a genetically enhanced one at that. It would turn more than one head and draw unwanted attention if he were to accompany the Pack out to eat.

"Guys," cut in the Zatanna-pup. "You're forgetting we've got the bio-ship and zetta-tubes. We can eat anywhere in the world! M'gann, you want pizza? Lets go to Italy!"

Alpha-female's eyes lit-up and she clapped her paws happily. "That's a great idea!" She flopped down on the couch next to Alpha and pulled his arm against her chest, melding herself to his side. "We could have a romantic dinner along the canals of Venice."

Alpha seemed to like this idea because he made the two-legger expression called a 'smile', which expressed pleasure. But before he could answer her, the Zatanna-pup continued, "Of course, we should wait for the rest of the Team to show up and throw in their two cents."

"Right."

Alpha and his mate moved slightly apart.

They didn't have to wait long. The Robin and the squirrel-tailed archer arrived soon after that and not long after they appeared so did the two-legged fish. The only one missing now was the red-furred speedster, but he wouldn't be along for some time. His territory was apparently in another 'time zone' (whatever that was) from the rest of the Pack's territories. Talk turned to where in the world they might eat and Wolf decided he might as well go for a walk. He couldn't go with them when they did decide so there was no point in staying for the debate.

He went outside.

There, drifting down on a current of cool air was Dog carrying a two-legger female.

'Wolf!' The domesticated canine yipped happily. 'Great timing!'

He landed and the two-legger female tumbled off of him, not looking happy at all. She climbed back to her feet and, pulling her one remaining shoe off, threw it at the Superdog's head. "You stupid alien mutt! Where have you taken me? When Clark gets back I am going to make he gives you the business end of a rolled-up newspaper!"

Wolf gave a short sharp bark to draw her attention.

The two-legger female gave a gasp of surprise and then darted behind Dog for protection. He didn't blame her; he was a wolf after all, and a very big wolf at that. At least she wasn't yelling at Dog anymore or beaning him in the head with two-inch heels.

'Wolf, can you fetch the Super-puppy?' Dog offered an apologetic tilt of his head. 'They have to meet.'

Wolf also tilted his head to the side; only his head-tilt was of confusion. 'Why?'

'This is his sire's mate.'

Krypto wasn't sure what kind of reaction he had expected this announcement to prompt from the cobra-venom enhanced predator, but he certainly hadn't expected what he got. Wolf barred his teeth, his pointed white ears going flat against the sides of his face and his fur standing on ends. 'Alpha wants nothing to do with Luthor!'

'Luthor?' Krypto blinked in confusion. 'No, this is his other sire's mate. This is Superman's mate.'

Wolf pulled a complete one-eighty. His hostility melting away instantly, his ears perking up, now with confusion. 'Superman has a mate?'

'Yes. Now will you please bring out the puppy? Bat-person says that she's not allowed in the Cave.

The idea of Superman having a mate had never even entered the Wolf's head. So surprised was he by this that, without further reply, he turned around and trotted back into the Den. They were still debating over where to eat when he reentered the common room. Wolf gave a very dog-like "Arf!" to get their attention, then he turned around and trotted back out the door.

They did not follow him.

Two-leggers could be very dense and stupid sometimes. He trotted back into the common room, gave another "Arf!", this time waited, no one moved. He walked up to Alpha whom was still sitting on the couch, his paw around his mate's waist. Wolf pawed at his leg a few times then once again turned towards the door.

"What up, boy?" Alpha asked.

Wolf waited patiently by the door.

"He wants you to follow him." Thank you, Alpha-female! Of all the two-leggers, she was the one most adept at understanding him (most of the time).

"Not now, boy."

Wolf grew frustrated. He clamped his jaw around Alpha's booted paw and pulled.

"Stop, let go! Bad Wolf."

Wolf let go instantly. He couldn't ignore a direct order from Alpha.

"Conner, just go see what he wants to show you." Alpha-female crossed her arms over her chest with a huff. "We have to wait for Wally anyway."

With a sigh of exasperation, Alpha stood and followed him out. Wolf led him to where he'd left Dog and Superman's mate waiting. She recognized him the moment she saw him. Or rather, she sort of recognized him. She knew his face, she just put he wrong name with it.

"Clark! Ohmygosh, what happened to you!" She rushed over to the boy. "Did you get de-aged? Is that why you sent Krypto to get me? I don't know how I can help, but I will."

"Um, what?" Alpha blinked in confusion.

"Oh." She paused a moment, considering. "Not de-aged then. …Time travel? Okay, you don't know me and I can't tell you who I am in case it creates a time paradox. Just know that in another twenty-years or so you're gonna come to trust me with all your secrets. Yes, event that one."

She grabbed his hand and examined them. Then continued without missing a beat, "No Legion ring. Okay, I get it. You want me to track down the ring while you, your present day counterpart and the rest of the League take care of whatever flavor-of-the-week baddie sent you to the furtur in the first place. Got it!"

Alpha just blinked in abject confusion bordering on impatience. "Um, what?"

"Look, Clark, I wanna help you, but you've got to meet me half way and tell me what's going on."

"Um… I'm sorry, Ma'am, but you've got the wrong guy."

Superman's mate blinked in confusion but before she could reply the rest of the Pack emerged from the Den.

"Hey, Supey," The Robin began, "what did Wolf wanna show- Oh! Hi, Lois. Um, what are you doing here?"

All eyes then turned to the Boy Wonder. "You know this woman?"

"Uh, yeah… she's… um, Lois, what are you doing here?"

Alpha had been starring at the mysterious woman trying to make sense of her seemingly insane ramblings. He recognized the dog she'd come with as 'Krypto', the dog he'd returned to its owner last weekend. Come to think of it, the dog's owner's name was 'Clark'. Then Robin seemed to know who she was… Then something in his mind suddenly clicked.

"OHMYGOD!" He shouted, startling everyone. "Clark was Superman!"

Robin clapped his hands in congratulations. "And it only took you four days to figure it out! We're so proud of you!"

Needless to say, by this point, Superman's mate had grown impatient. "Someone better tell me what the heck is going on, right now!"

"I'm Superman's clone!" Alpha snarled.

"His what?"

Robin stepped forward. "I'll handle this. Lois, meet Superman's clone, Superboy. Superboy, meet Superman's wife, Lois Lane."

"Superman's married!" Everyone seemed struck with disbelief at that announcement.

"Somehow, I just can't imagine that." Alpha-female tapped her chin in thought.

"I always thought he was dating Batman." The squirrel-tailed archer commented.

"Sometimes I think so too." Lois smiled at her.

It was then that the red-furred speedster appeared, walking out of the Cave, still in his civies and munching on a granola bar. "Hey guys, what're we all doing out here? Who's the old lady?"

"'Old lady'!" Oh, she was pissed.

"She's Mrs. Superman." Alpha answered desolately.

"Superman's married!" His eyes went wide. "Whoa."

"I'm still waiting to hear an explanation." Mrs. Superman tapped her bare foot in the grass.

"Okay, that settles it. We're gonna have dinner in Ireland." Robin took charge. "Because I have a feeling both Lois and Supey are gonna need a strong drink."


	6. Clark & Conner Revisited

They had not stayed at the pub long, just long enough to sit down and eat while Robin, Kid Flash and Aqualad explained to Mrs. Superman about how they had discovered Superboy back in July, and how Superman had been ignoring him for over eight months. Lois had sad patiently and listened with rapped attention, as if this were any normal interview with a source for a story she was following.

When their meal was done, they moved the conversation into Miss Martian's bio-ship and returned to Mt. Justice where, against Robin's better judgment they admitted Mrs. Superman to the base and allowed her the use of one of the computers…

…

Superman was doing his usual evening circuit of the city when his phone rang. Not his JLA comm, just his ordinary civilian cell phone. A quick glance at the caller ID showed it to be Lois and he answered it quickly, hoping she hadn't taken another long jog off a short roof (as she often tended to do).

"Lois, is everything okay?"

"Smallville, I have just met the most interesting person." Her voice came through, crisp, fresh and dripping with something that he could have sworn was forced sweetness. "In fact, he's so interesting that I wrote up a story on him. But you know how I am with typos; I need you to look over it for me. I sent it to your email… I suggest you check your email within the very near future. Say, before this call is ended."

"I'm kinda in the middle of a patrol right now, sweetheart." He reminded her.

"Clark, if you do not go home and read what I've written right now, I'm filling for divorce and telling everyone you're Superman!"

That was a rather jarring threat. He knew she never would, but the fact that she have made the threat in the first place, empty as it was, had him suddenly worried. What could she have written that was so important she'd blackmail him to read it?

Clark was back in their apartment and booting up the home computer in an instant. "Okay, I'm logging into my email…" He narrated for her. "Okay, I've got Facebook updates, spam, spam, latest updates from Apple and… 'Nobody's Child', is that it?"

"That's the one."

With a sigh, the Man of Steel opened the message, downloaded the attached document and read. He froze. Reread it just to make sure. Then in a very serious voice he asked, "Where are you right now?"

Her tone was light and sing-song when she answered, "Oh, the Cave."

…  
Recognize: Superman 01

"Well, that certainly didn't take him long to get here."

Wolf lifted his head from when he lay reclining at Alpha's feet as a gust of air ruffled his fur. The Superman, one of Alpha's sires, now stood behind the couch at his mate's shoulder. The rest of the Pack tensed ever so slightly, not nearly enough for it to be noticed by the eyes, but Wolf could smell it. The air suddenly turned thick when the Two-Legger of Steel arrived. He glared reproachfully at Alpha whom seemed to shrink into the couch at the intensity of the gaze.

"What in the name of Rao's flaming pits do you think you're doing?"

Superman's mate, on the other paw, seemed unperturbed. She smiled up at him. "Oh, I was just getting acquainted with my step-son."

"Excuse me!"

Wolf watched as his Alpha recoiled at the sound of his sire's voice. He didn't understand. Alpha wasn't meeting his sire's hostility with a challenge of his own, yet he didn't seem to be offering his submission either. Maybe that was the real problem, neither knew where the other stood within the pack hierarchy because Alpha wouldn't meet his sire's challenge for dominance but he wouldn't offer his submission either.

"You heard me." Continued Sueprman's mate. "Imagine how shocked I was to not only learn that you had a teenaged clone, but that he'd been around for almost a year now and you never even mentioned him." She stood. "I'm livid, Smallville. Now you have a choice, you can either sit here and get to know Conner or I email that lovely article you've already read to Perry for the morning edition. Your choice."

She crossed the common room to where Miss Martian stood trying to look casual and failing miserably at it. "M'gann, would you mind giving me a ride home? I'll need to make up the couch for him. And you and I need to share some girl-talk about kryptonian boys, there are some moves I think you might find interesting."

"Wha-? Buh-" The martian girl said inarticulately.

Superman's mate linked paws with her and steered them both out of the room.

Alpha and his sire glanced at each other and then looked away quickly.

The Zatanna-pup bolted to her feet. "Lets all get a snack."

"I love to snack." The red-furred speedster agreed.

The Zatanna-pup, red-furred speedster, squirrel-tailed archer and two-legged fish all stood from their seats and likewise headed for the door. But the Robin did not move.

"Pst, Rob." The speedster hissed.

"I'm good." The Robin watched Alpha and his sire with wrapped attention.

The two-legged fish came over, picked the Robin up and threw him over his shoulders. They all left. There was now only Alpha and his sire left. Well, Alpha, his sire, Krypto and himself. But Wolf had long since learned the two-leggers didn't tend to count pets or animal companions when wanting privacy.

The two remained in an awkward silence, neither willing to meet the other's eyes. Alpha on the couch, one paw thrown over the seat's arm, his gaze affixed to the wall. The Superman standing with his paws crossed over his chest, eyes down studying his bright red boots. For all intents and purposes they might as well have been on separate planets. Wolf glanced to Krypto for guidance.

The Superdog hopped up onto the couch next to Alpha, looked at the Superman and gave a short "arf" to draw the two-leggers' attention. They both looked at him. Alpha reached out a hand and scratched the dog behind the ears. Then, after a hesitant glance at his sire, lowered his hand and drew back into his corner of the couch.

The silence dragged on…

Then, long after the silence had surpassed 'uncomfortably long' and was approaching 'just give up and run away with your tail between your legs and cry' long, the Superman finally spoke.

"Do you…" He paused, hesitated, glanced cautiously at their furry four-legged companions. "Do you wanna go for a W-A-L-K?"

Alpha looked at him confused. "Why can't you just say 'walk'?"

Krypto reacted instantly. At the mention of the word 'walk' he leapt up off the couch and zoomed circles and figure-eights around both two-leggers, barking and yipping in excitement. He licked their faces, and pawed at their shoulders, and pulled at their clothing to try and get them moving. They said 'walk', that meant it was walkies! Walkies! Walkies! Walkies!

The Superman heaved a sigh. "That's why."

Every dog own knows there are three sounds you never make around furry friend and those are, the sound of keys jingling, the word 'treat' and the word 'walk'. Sometimes the words 'car ride' and 'out' were added to the list, but they were slightly less universal than keys, 'treat' and 'walk'.

…

Krypto bounded happily over the woods that covered Mt. Justice, hopping from treetop to treetop, shaking braches, startling birds and squirrels and raining early-evening dew down on Master and his puppy whom walked with Wolf below. Walkies were good. Of course, a proper walkies included a jaunt through space and at least a few minuets of chasing comets. But Master's puppy couldn't fly and so could not get to space and Wolf wouldn't be able to survive in space, so the Superdog had to content himself with just flying of the canopy and tormenting the squirrels.

Under the forest cover, Superman and Conner walked. In silence. Neither had said a word since Superman's suggestion of a walk. They had exchanged one uncomfortable silence indoors for an equally uncomfortable silence outside.

Conner kicked a stone.

Superman watched expressionlessly as it went sailing through the air ahead of them and imbedded itself in a tree. But he did not comment.

Wolf looked from the now tree-born rock to Alpha and back again. Then, deciding it was safer to walk behind the pair of two-leggers, fell back a few steps.

They continued walking.

The silence dragged on.

Then, quite suddenly, Superman stopped. Just stopped. His feet freezing, his body going ridged, his shoulders shaking just visibly to a kryptonian eye. He voice was low, but calm, firm without a hint of denial.

"I'm not your father."

Conner stopped to look at him. He raised his eyes from here they had been fixed on the ground in front of him and met his genetic donor's eyes. "I know that."

"Do you?"

Conner said nothing.

"Because ever since you showed up that's the only thing anyone ever thinks of us –father and son." He continued without need for the boy to respond. "Batman, Martian Manhunter, Professor Ivo… and now my own wife!"

"Its not like I sought her out and tattled on you or anything." The boy snapped suddenly. "And I didn't ask Batman or J'onn to pressure you either, so don't try and pin it on me! Look, I'm sorry I've disturbed your perfect life so much! Really, I am. Trust me, if I could go back in time and stop myself from ever being created in the first place I would! But I can't! Sorry, but I'm here now and I'm not going anywhere."

He paused when he realized he had raised his voice to Superman and lowered his eyes back to the ground. His tone was more subdued when he continued. "Look, I never asked you to be a father-figure to me. I know what I am and my sort don't have 'parents', but it would have been nice –especially earlier on- if you had just coached me a little. On how to use my powers, I mean. To control them."

His words hung in the air for a moment, and then…

"That was irresponsible of me. I admit it." Superman sighed. "I never imagined Bats would send you to school with other children. If I had known ahead of time, I probably would have trained you a little, if for no other reason then to protect the other kids. By the time I found out, you didn't need my help. You're control is fine."

"But it's not perfect."

"Its acceptable."

More silence.

Wolf caught the scent of a rabbit and vanished into the underbrush to begin the hunt.

"I guess you've got kids of your own." Conner said, forlornly. "Real kids, I mean. Not clones."

"No."

"Oh. I just assumed- since you're married… That's what married people do, right? Have kids."

"No."

"Do you not like kids?"

No answer.

From some meters off, the two kryptonians heard the unmistakable death-wail of a doomed bunny-rabbit.

"I guess I won't have to worry about feeding Wolf tonight." Conner said, absentmindedly.

…

Clark thought about his short conversation with the Superboy all the way home. He supposed he could have zetta'd back to Metropolis, but he wanted to flight and the air and the extra time to think.

There was a blanked and pillow waiting for him on the couch when he got home. Wonderful. Lois had sent him to the doghouse without bothering to hear his side of the story. Admittedly, she was probably more upset on the fact that he has hidden the Superboy from her rather than his actual treatment of the boy.

The boy… He had spent the entire flight home reflecting on the issue of the boy…

He ignored the couch for the moment and waltzed right into the bedroom. Lois was still awake, her lap-top propped up on her knees, proofreading an article. A real article. Not the quick smear-job she'd done to get his attention and force him to confront the boy. She looked up when he entered, the silent question of, 'So, how did it go?' in here eyes. Would she be accepting him back into her bed, or was he just coming in to change into Pjs?

Krypto trotted past his Master and hopped onto the bed, bold as you please.

Lois glared at the dog, he knew her opinion of furry creatures that shed profusely lounging on her furniture. That applied doubly so for her bed. The Superdog slunk off, looking chastised, though Lois had made no move or sound. She was queen of her household and they all knew it.

Finally, tired of waiting, she asked, "Well?"

Clark paused. Sighed. Crossed the room. Sat on the edge of the bed. Her side, not his.

"We can't have children." He told her.

Lois stared at him for a moment. Then, moving her computer off her lap, leaned over to open a drawer in her bedside table. From this the pulled a plastic novelty badge that said 'Honorary Captain Obvious' and handed it to Clark.

It had been a conversation visited and revisited many times in the Kent household about kryptonian and homo-sapian incompatibility when it came to propagation. The two races might look the same, they might have similar enough parts to enjoy a physical relationship, but that was where it stopped. Lois and Clark would never have any children of their own by natural means. Clark had never thought it really bothered Lois much, seeing as how she was always so focused on her career… It had bothered him a little in the beginning, but he told himself that it was probably for the best. After all, he lived a dangerous life and until their powers fully developed, any child of his would be a target for his enemies.

But the boy –his clone, was already mostly grown. While his powers were not yet fully developed he was adept enough at using them to be able to take care of himself… What had been the problem…? The boy had been a shock, but after the shock wore off, why hadn't he…

"I was angry." He finally continued. "You and I can't have children, but I… I have a clone that's young enough to be considered my 'child', but he's not yours. He didn't come from you. I… wanted him to be from you and I… Cadmus had no right to do this to us. Its not fair."

She closed her computer. "Imagine how unfair he must think it is."

Clark was quiet.

…

The next morning, while the Pack was watching DC Nation, Alpha got a call from his sire. An offering of peace between two-leggers called an 'apology'. The Pack had stopped and stared, the animated entertainment on the light-and-sound-box forgotten. All eyes turned to stare at Alpha whom had his hand to his ear, adjusting his comm as if the thing had malfunctioned somehow.

As if that were strange enough, his sire then went on to invite Alpha on an outing!

The Robin had then jumped on Alpha and ripped the comm out of his ear. "Who are you! What have you done with Superman? I hope you know all calls to or from JLA comms are recorded and we have the best voice analysis software in the world!"

The Superman then said something that convinced the Robin he was really Alpha's sire and he passed the comm back, looking chastised.

…

That had been almost one month ago.

Wolf felt like they had finally come full circle. He had just finished a bath the night he first met Krypto and not here he was, once again enduring an awful bath with hateful soap! Only this time Krypto was here to share it with him (assuming Alpha's sire ever actually got him in the tub), and rather than standing under the warm indoor rain of the Den's shower room, he was in the bathroom of Superman's Den. Well, one of his Dens, apparently he had three. This Den was called the 'Fortress of Solitude'.

The kobra-venom enhanced predator sat quietly and watched Alpha's sire wrestle with the uncooperative dog, while Alpha himself scrubbed the soap into his fur and worked it up into a lather. Did Krypto not understand that the whole ordeal would be over much more quickly if he just cooperated? Or did he think that by making a nuisance of himself he could avoid being bathed forever?

Finally, Alpha's sire managed to get him in the tub next to Wolf and, holding him by the scruff of the neck with one hand, began wetting his fur with the other.

"I'm jealous." Said the Superman. "Your dog's so well behaved."

Alpha shrugged. "Its not that hard, Clark, you just gotta show them who's boss."

Krypto looked like he was about to make another dash for the door and Clark-person tightened his hold on the dog's neck. "How'd you do that?"

"Me?" Alpha shrugged. "I just beat the ever-living crap out of him. Isn't that right boy? Yes it is. I totally kicked your tail and the tails of your entire pack!"

Wolf gave an "arf" or affirmative. Alpha was strong.

Clark looked from the Wolf to Alpha, then to his own dog. "Yeah… that's not gonna happen."

Alpha merely shrugged. "Okay. Now you tell a story."

"Huh?" Admittedly, that had been a rather abrupt subject change.

"I told you how I met Wolf and why he listens when I ask him to do stuff. Now you tell me something."

"Okay, well… there was this one time…" Clark and Conner spent the entirety of the dogs' bath talking, swapping stories, sharing jokes (although, Alpha had fewer of those) and just generally enjoying each other's company.

"…so then he says to me-" Clark dove to grab Krypto before he could go dashing off through the Fortress soaking wet. He continued as he toweled the dog off, "…he says we should start a Junior Lifeguard Association. And then I say, 'I'm not sure I'm ready to start a JLA yet.'"

Alpha snorted, snickered behind his hand, then laughed.

Clark let Krypto go. "C'mon kiddo."

As they exited the bathroom after their dogs, Clark ruffled Conner's hair. It was a friendly gesture brimming with affection.

…

END


End file.
